My son doesn’t like rice so much. What upsets me is that he always quick to finish eating his dishes but takes his time to labour over his rice even though I only gave him six to seven spoonfuls. His usual excuse is he is already full. To circumvent such an unhealthy habit, I only allow him to have two third of his allocated dishes to be finished with the rice. If he finishes, he gets the rest. He usually abides. However, this tactic of mine still doesn’t improve his appetite for rice. The ONLY exception is SUSHI!

He is absolutely fond of sushi and usually ends up eating more rice than usual. You can see the twinkle in his eyes which gave me the idea of making onigiri (rice ball) for him.

Onigiri(also known as rice ball, 饭团) is made from white rice formed into triangular or oval shapes and often wrapped in nori (seaweed). There is a slight distinction between onigiri and sushi. Onigiri is made with plain rice (perhaps lightly salted), while sushi is rice with vinegar, sugar and salt.

Onigiri comes in difference shapes and forms. Unlike sushi, it is pretty easy to make and required less skill. Making onigiri at home is a breeze if you can get hold of some simple gadgets so as to save time and ensure uniformed end products. I used a triangle shape rice mould and two seaweed punchers that I bought from Daiso to make these onigiris. You can find many choices of onigiri gadgets at Daiso. Do pay a visit to your nearest Daiso outlet to check it out.

There are two common methods for making onigiri. You can either mix the ingredients with the rice before putting into a mould, or stuff the ingredients inside the rice. As for the selection and combination of ingredients, I prefer to use my own creativity to mix and match them. You can refer to those suggested ingredients in my tips at PAGE 2 BELOW. Let’s have some fun and make some onigiri today. It’s ideal for your kid’s school lunch boxes and picnic outings.

Oh yeah! I almost forget to mention about my son’s first reaction about onigiri. When I awarded him two “6-star” rated onigiris, he was overjoyed and very proud of himself , so much so that he couldn’t wait to eat up his “prize”. Well, he finished all of them in no time, and then requested for more “prizes”! This marks another success story in my diary!

Ohhhh.. how lovely looking! I like the stars that you put on the rice balls.. really cute.
Could it be the texture of the sushi rice that makes your little cute one favours it over the long grain rice?

Lee Mei (MCH): Tks! I think star is a powerful symbol for kids in general. That’s why I chose it as compared to love shape. Initially I also thought the same but he still didn’t change his eating behaviour if it is served as normal. I think it is the shape that he likes. 😉

Tigerfish: Yeah, u’re right. We should limit our rice intake as it is a form of carbo. Currently we eat very little rice and most of the time is brown rice. Making this onigiri is to make sure my son eats a reasonable amount of rice but not becoming a 饭桶 later. LOL!

This is beautiful and I believe my girl will want to have this in her snack box everyday. May be I will need to alter the ingredient from salmon to tuna, she doesn’t like the smell of salmon, too bad! Just have to kick my butt and go the kitchen every early morning and make it a point to prepare something healthy delicious food instead of letting her eat those fast food serve in the canteen.

Joanne: You’re free to mix and match any ingredients your girl likes when making onigiri. Just make sure they are cooked properly. Yeah, you should put in more efforts to promote a healthy diet to your kids. 😉

I gotta say I always eat all the rice first and then slowly savour the dishes! I’m sure your son will adore these. They’re really pretty. The little onigiri moulds are adorable too. I make mine with my hands but those moulds sure could come in handy when i’m lazy.

Evelyn: Thanks a lot for your kind feedback. Glad to know that your son likes it. If you want to enhance the taste, try the following suggestions:
a) dip it with either mayonaise or wasabi.
b) sprinkle some salt onto the rice
c) cook your rice with dashi (stock) and salt
d) add more ingredients in the rice balls such as sweetcorns, green peas, seaweed powder, sesame seeds. Lately I added some preserved Japanese sardines (which I bought in the Japanese food fair) to the rice ball, it tasted great.
Hope it helps. 😉

I bought fairprice japonica rice n cooked twice. 1st time: follow 1cup rice:1cup water, the grains were abit hard because i find not enough water. 2nd time: i added more water like how i cook normal thai rice, but it turned out sticky. I follow your steps like soaking rice for half hr before cooking. Will you tell me how to cook it right?

Qns 2 is relating to your power homemade bars, can i find golden syrup at phoon huat? Cant find at ntuc. I cant replace with manuka honey?

Ying: Japanese short grain rice should be sticky. I would recommend you to learn it from youtube. Just do a google search to find one that suits you most. As for the golden syrup, I think PH should have. Yes, you can replace with honey (clear and runny type).

Ms Low: Yes i browsed youtube videos prior to cooking for first attempt, watched how the rice is washed n cooked but didnt teach how much water to cook :p but anyway i cook for the 3rd time n it is much better than being sticky wet for 2nd time. The water must be lesser compare to cooking thai rice.

For your baked homemade bars, you mean it is fine not to use golden syrup? Clear runny honey like those few dollars type from supermarket?

Ying: Yes, Japanese rice (short grain rice) requires less water than Thai fragrant rice. That’s because after soaking, the rice has absorbed quite an amount of water. Another point to note is to flake the rice once it is cooked and let them stay in the rice cooker for a while before serving. Yes, you may use runny honey. But bear in mind that honey is sweeter than golden syrup. Golden syrup can sometimes be found at the baking section in NTUC. You can also try local baking supply shops like Phoon Huat. Hope it helps! 😉